


We Can’t Undo the Grip on Our Hearts

by madamsledge



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, World War II, creative cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 13:43:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20601767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamsledge/pseuds/madamsledge
Summary: He's lost his mezuzah, his cigarettes are wet, and his nutsack may actually be frozen to his leg. You help with what you can.





	We Can’t Undo the Grip on Our Hearts

“God fucking damn it!”

It was no shocker to hear that coming from Joe Liebgott’s mouth. It happened about a thousand times a day in some iteration or another. You could hear him digging around something in the foxhole beside yours, but continued trying to make the chicory coffee in your tin cup palatable. So far, no dice.

“Jesus Christ shitting balloon bears!”

Oh, no. He was getting more creative.

“Holy fucking Honolulu Hanukkah in motherfucking defiance of God, fuck me, fucking…”

“Joe,” you called over your shoulder, peering through the snowflakes that drifted down to the earth in large, wet clumps. “You bitch so much.”

You saw his head and shoulders pop up above ground level. “I can’t find my fucking mezuzah, goddamn snow got my cigarettes wet, and I think my nutsack might actually be frozen to my thigh. What’s the right amount of goddamn bitching for that? Fuck. Shit. Jesus Christ.”

“Hop on over,” you said, lifting the tin to at least let him know you had a warm drink to share. “I don’t know where Pat went, there’s plenty of room.”

You lit a cigarette and passed it to him when he sank inelegantly into the foxhole beside you. When he took it, you unfurled the blanket tucked around you and edged in close in attempt to cover you both. “Come here. I’m warmer than you are, you have frost on your lips.”

After a few moments of silence, Joe sighed and rubbed at his temple beneath his helmet “My granddad gave it to me. Before I left. I must’ve fucking dropped it somewhere. Can you fucking believe that dumbass shit?”

“I’ll help you look for it,” you promised quietly. “I don’t care if I lose all feeling in my hands digging around in the snow, we’ll find your mezuzah. I can’t do anything about your balls, but I’m sure we can scrounge together enough smokes to get you through.”

His expression immediately softened. A smile played at the corners of his lips, then his arm was around your shoulder, and he pushed away your helmet just enough to kiss your temple. “I forget I got you looking after me, sometimes. As soon as my nuts thaw out, I’m gonna take all Christenson’s shit and throw it in with Popeye over there. I’ll swap places with that weirdo son of a bitch.”

You laughed and hit his arm. “He’s not a weirdo or a son of a bitch! He’s a very nice guy.”

“Any guy sharing a foxhole with you that isn’t me is a weirdo son of a bitch,” he replied hastily. “And besides, you don’t need a Pat Christenson.”

Oh, it was so hard not to smile, but you fought it off bravely. “I don’t?”

“Fuck no!” Joe’s arm tightened around your shoulders. “What you need is a nice Jewish boy, scar on his neck, comic book enthusiast, loves to read, loves you, wants a ton of kids, interested in buying this one gorgeous house right by the Bay…”

Your cheeks reddened more than the cold had already made them. “Loves me?”

“Yeah.” No smartass remark, no snark…Joe tucked your head under his chin. “Yeah. You’re good to me like nobody’s good to me, and I wanna do everything for you. I wanna give you everything. Know what? When we got to Toccoa, way back when, I elbowed Luz and I told him ‘That’s my fucking wife’.”

“I am?”

“Yep.” He nodded, no hesitation. “You just didn’t know it, yet.”

“So now I know?”

Another nod. “Now you know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! All my fanfiction (a lot of which isn't on ao3) can be found at warmommy.tumblr.com/fanfiction


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